Environment

They come into force on 06 April 2012 - are you prepared? A short course to bring you up to date is available.Following an extensive consultation exercise the Government has finally produced new Tree Preservation Order (TPO) Regulations. The Regulations were;

Made on 28 February 2012; Laid before Parliament on 05 March 2012; and Come into Force on 06 April 2012.

Lord Justice Jackson has recommended a fixed costs regime to ensure the government fulfils its duty in environmental judicial review cases. These cases are often complex and a forum for expert witnesses propounding both sides of the argument.

The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation last year to ask how to comply with the UK’s international obligations as part of the UN Aarhus Convention. The multilateral agreement requires parties to guarantee access to justice and ensure the public can challenge decisions.

The government has admitted breaching European Union pollution legislation, during a High Court battle with environmental campaign group. Lawyers for Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman made the admission following action by ClientEarth.

The European Commission has confirmed that the UK could face legal action over its plans to more than halve subsidies for solar on December 12.

Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, submitted a Priority Question to the commission, who confirmed that legal proceedings will be taken if the current proposals significantly impact the UK’s progress toward the binding EU target on renewable energy.

The Government must come up with new policies to drive the step change needed to cut carbon emissions, David Kennedy, the CEO of the Climate Change Committee [1] will tell members of the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) this Thursday (December 1st).